Red Letter Morning

I went and sat in my pallet hide this morning. I slowly stalked to the hide, knowing there was almost as good a chance of shooting a deer on the way to the hide as I would sat in it. Within 5 minutes of getting positioned in the hide I shot this muntjac!! He came out the woods very close to a muntjac buck that I shot and self filmed a few months ago. First time at self filming me shooting a muntjac buck He is a very very good buck, I was sorely tempted to leave him for one of my guests that I have invited for later in the year, I have had probably 10 stalks in the last week and have come home with nothing, so this one will fill the gap in my freezer.

His antlers are not as thick as the one I already had shoulder mounted, but they are a lot longer. I will probably get it measured at the Midland Game Fair. But this one will just be a bleached skull on the wall.

I am not sure my Mrs would allow more stuffed heads above our dining table, at the moment I am planning on having a good representative or even better, a medal of each of the UK's 6 deer species shoulder mounted, I already have a bronze CWD and gold muntjac shoulder mounted and a bronze roe soon to be in progress. I am hoping my Mrs will let me add to my trophy wall a mouflon in November following my Czech Republic trip and some African Game after our trip in April 2015, which she is also coming on. I may even try and persuade her to shoot something to add to the wall too!!






I am being kind to my mate Steve109 trade member on here of Outwoods Taxidermy http://www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk/member.php/485-steve109, he mentioned that he needed a cape from a big bodied muntjac for another customer, so I was planning on capeing that out for him when I got home. He weighed 25lb fully dressed out.

I then went to another bit of ground 10 minutes drive away. I intended to do a recce for planned stalk tonight. I pulled up in my car and immediately could see there were 2 roe does and a buck feeding on the stubble. The does were at the very end of the field over 700 yards away, the buck was feeding along the hedgeline, closer at 500ish yards away. I got out my car, there was a perfect dip in the field that I managed to get into unseen, I scooched down and got to within 300 yards of the buck. Then 2 muntjac came out the hedge over 400 yards away, so in this field there were 3 roe and 2 muntjac!!

The buck was steadily feeding from left to right and getting closer to me, eventually he would have caught my wind, so I needed to be mindful of that. It was not 100% safe where he stood, so I picked a safe point in the field and decided when he got there I would take him. I was steady on the bipod, the 200 yard shot was an easy one. He obligingly stood still and broadside on my marker, I sent the .277 130 grain Hornady Interlock, he sprinted 40 yards with blood streaming out of the exit wound, he went head over heels and lay motionless. He is too a very nice buck, very very long main beams, thick coronets, some pearling, only thing letting the head down is the tines are not very long. He could possibly make the grade when I put it up next to a bronze and silver that I have in my collection. When it is boiled out I will weigh the head and see what's what, as everyone knows the weight is the biggest factor.






I have caped out both animals for Steve to have, as he is desperate for roe capes too.

I may try for a fallow tonight!! That would definitely be a red letter day then!!! Not sure I will be able to get a palmated buck mind you!! But you never know!!!
 
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Great write up, and what a morning. Very jealous but I bet that was hard earned and a long time coming. Good luck for this evening!

WH
 
Well I am starting to lag a bit!!! Being up since 4am and then doing a whole days work!! A few drinks and a takeaway is also tempting me!!

I may try for the fallow first light. If I get one before 5.45am then it will still be within the same 24 hours as the muntjac, but that said the roe buck was shot at 7.30am ish so I will give myself up to 7.30am to get my 3 species.

My mate said I should have tried for a few pigeons, then tried to catch a wild brown trout in the River Ouse, which runs about 100 yards from the back of my house. Then I could have a Midlands MacNab!!
 
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Well done mate, a couple of really good animals there! :tiphat: and a very interesting shape to the Roe antlers too. Have you measured them for the length?........ and did you get your Fallow buck this morning?
 
I had a muntjac buck of almost exactly the same statue antler wise last night. Sadly he was still in velvet.. Gutted, as he was my first decent one. Congratulations on yours though, I'm not jealous at all...
 
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